Skip to main content

Blog 5: Considering the Relationship between Online & Offline Authority in Shaping Meme Messages

Considering the Relationship between Online & Offline Authority in Shaping Meme Messages


https://countercreationist.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/atheist-memes-2/

This meme speaks to issues about religious authority by calling into question God's legitimacy. The meme makes fun of the logic behind this particular teaching and undermines God's authority by mocking him. 


https://aminoapps.com/page/atheist-amino/4111879/some-memes

This meme calls into question the religious authority of members who do not condone homosexuality. It uses examples of other "unnatural" events within the Bible to show the incongruities in their argument. 

The Internet meme genres that appear in my meme sample are primarily reaction memes that use stock characters to portray a particular reaction. Mainly, the memes are reacting to dominant Christian beliefs that Atheists find incorrect and attempt to debunk certain aspects of Christian dogma. The frames used are mocking and questioning frames. Many of the memes mock other religions for believing in something that cannot be "proven". Also, the memes will pose sarcastic questions that make the reader question something about the religion highlighted in the meme.

Pretty much every aspect of religious actors/issues/community are being undermined by Atheist memes. No topic is off limits and the meme creators spare no part of religious culture in their mockery. This tells us that Atheists view themselves as superior and don't believe their authority can be questioned because they can back their claims with science.

Because there is no true authority structure in Atheism due to their lack of belief system, aspects of religious authority don't really inform how someone would read this collection of Internet memes. However, cultural hierarchies and established interpretive systems do influence their digital culture messages.











Comments

  1. Soup Twin-1November 14, 2017 at 8:31 AM

    Please make sure you provide more detail about the common features of Atheism that are being stereotyped in your memes. Remember illustrating your claims, like unpacking in detail a couple of memes that exemplify your argument, will be important for your final paper.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog 3: Presentations of Religious Identity in Internet Memes

Presentations of Religious Identity in Internet Memes Atheist online identities are deeply rooted in "proving" their position as the right one. They are very focused on developing strongly satirical messages about primarily Christian beliefs that present Atheism in a more positive light. Their religious identity is hard to define seeing as they are anti-religion and seek to express this by mocking those who do identify with an organized religion. https://www.pinterest.com/explore/atheist-meme/?lp=true http://digitalreligion.tamu.edu/atheist-memes-facebook-page The main idea accentuated in Atheist generated memes is the moral and intellectual superiority of the group. Most of the memes I have studied focus on the belief that Atheists are somehow smarter and generally better people than those who belong to a religious faith because they cite their beliefs in facts and feel they can disprove any other ideas through science.  I think these ideas are hig...
1 comment
Read more

Blog 2: How Memes Frame Religion

Atheist Meme Frames My strategy for selecting memes is to simple Google Image search "Atheist memes" and see what catches my eye. For the most part, memes with simple messages and the use of familiar images is helpful when choosing which memes to post to the blog. So far, the memes I have selected have been seemingly written by members of the Atheist group and mock organized religion through use of satire and sarcasm. These memes help to address my specific research theme by providing insight into how Atheists view themselves and other religious backgrounds.  http://www.relativelyinteresting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/thank-you-jesus-atheist-meme.jpg http://godlessmom.com/atheist-memes/memes/9zdu2ms/ Members of this group seem to derive their meaning by putting down or casting doubt on organized religion. Their central understanding is forged through their common thought that there is no supreme being running our lives and anyone who believes othe...
1 comment
Read more